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Wood Spurge

Euphorbia amygdaloides

Wood Spurge
Photo: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0

Wood spurge is a bushy evergreen perennial that thrives in dry shade under trees and spreads fast by rhizomes, so it works well as groundcover but can become invasive. Its subspecies robbiae (Mrs Robb's bonnet) is the form most often grown in gardens.

Family
Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family)
Grows as
Tree, Perennial
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Water during establishment, then only in long dry spells; tolerates dry shade once settled.
Soil
Well-drained, moderately fertile soil; tolerates poor soil.
Temperature
Hardy to about -15 °C; protect from prolonged frost in very cold areas.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: All parts, especially the milky sap, contain irritant diterpene esters that can cause skin irritation and gut upset if eaten.
Native range
Europe to Iran
Climate
temperate

About

Euphorbia amygdaloides, the wood spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to woodland locations in Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is a bushy evergreen perennial, growing to a height of 80 cm (31 in), with dark green slightly hairy leaves about 6 cm (2 in) long. The complex green-yellow inflorescence (cyathium), typical of Euphorbia, appears in late spring and early summer.

It is among the few plants that thrive in the dry shade of trees, where it is used as groundcover. It spreads rapidly by underground rhizomes and can become invasive, though relatively easy to remove.

Other Euphorbia plants

Abd Al Kuri Euphorbia · Desert Candle · Greek Spiny Spurge · Euphorbia actinoclada · Miniature Saguaro · Pincushion Euphorbia · Euphorbia alcicornis · Euphorbia alfredii · Euphorbia ambarivatoensis · Euphorbia ambovombensis · African candelabra · Euphorbia ampliphylla

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euphorbia amygdaloides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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